Im in a location that is not fully visible to the traffic driving by even though its on a heavily traffic street..what forms of advertising works best ...flyers? Banners? Mailers?
We had flags up(like the cell phone stores have) but the county made us take them down or fine us..so any suggestions would be wonderful..need to generate some bizness asap..

I've always said it's word of mouth. Also, I've been using the Yellow Pages for years and I've had a lot of people say they found me in the YP. This year I'm going to change my funding in it a bit. Before I put more toward the printed book and less toward internet. this year I'm going to put the bulk toward the internet. Very few people actually use the phone book anymore but lots will do an online search for salons in the area.

We did living social and basically it was a nightmare. I find it amazing how people will spend money on a coupon without even reading what they are actually buying.
Most of the people that came are coupon whores. They just go wherever the coupon is at the time they need whatever is being offered. Maybe a few are repeats but not worth losing the time slot that I could give to a regular client. If you have low prices to begin with,they may be repeats. If you area higher end spa they are not coming back without another coupon. WORD OF MOUTH is the best way to build. It has taken close to a year and I am now busy. Who knows what winter may bring me but for now its ok. Make sure to get each clients email and send them specials. You can tell them that if they bring a friend they will get $5 off next visit.
Good luck

(08-13-2012, 12:57 PM)sillysoup Wrote: We did living social and basically it was a nightmare. I find it amazing how people will spend money on a coupon without even reading what they are actually buying.
Most of the people that came are coupon whores. They just go wherever the coupon is at the time they need whatever is being offered. Maybe a few are repeats but not worth losing the time slot that I could give to a regular client. If you have low prices to begin with,they may be repeats. If you area higher end spa they are not coming back without another coupon. WORD OF MOUTH is the best way to build. It has taken close to a year and I am now busy. Who knows what winter may bring me but for now its ok. Make sure to get each clients email and send them specials. You can tell them that if they bring a friend they will get $5 off next visit.
Good luck

I've always felt that people who use coupons will most likely not come back because they're after the cheapest price, not quality of service. Return rate MIGHT be 1 in 10, definitely not worth the effort and people/business' have become disillusioned with co.'s like Groupon. I think a punch card would work well because it insures that the client HAS to come back to get the lower prices.

I have had people ask us if we use punch cards. We don't but I think they are a good idea.
I find that getting out and introducing myself helps. Bring business cards and menus to any local area stores nearby. Offer them a discount. Print out fliers.

Well, the new salon Im working at actually did a groupon. Unfortunately the rep did not explain things well to the owner, and she didnt put a cap on the amount sold....so needless to say she sold 500 of them. Now...I had always been opposed to them before, but Ive actually have built up a little clientele for the 6 weeks Ive been there....ppl are returning after using thier groupons.
Plus we are on a busy road, and she has a sign out at the road that she can put whatever on, and we have gained alot of new clients that way as well. But, yes...more than nought--word of mouth is by far the best.
Allthough here at this new place the sign out front has definitely brought in more clients than referrals have.
So, you just have to pound the pavement and see what works for you...there in no magic way to get them in...but just work and work and eventually your determination will pay off!!!

" Take time.....to be kind".....
~Tracy~

Full Time single mom,
Medical Receptionist &
Part Time Nail Artist
Akron, OH

Word of mouth has been my best advertisement. I have spent no money advertising up front. I give $10 off for every new client then I send a coupon after their first visit. I also have a referral program in place so my regular clients can benefit. It's worked very well. My salon is not visible at all so I needed to make sure I had a system that was cost effective. I've been in my own salon since Jan and have been super busy. I also print my own coupons.

I've done all the ladies above mentioned, cept the Groupon, and none of them have worked for me :-( Most everyone looking for a new salon uses the internet nowadays. So my suggestion is Yellowpages.com (now called yp.com) and maybe get a few current clients to post some reviews on Angie's List. Once you are on there you can do a profile and people can find you.

P.S. if you do the YP.com, don't pay extra for a higher listing ad, just ask your current clients to do reviews on there and it will get ya higher up on the search list. Also if ya do this or Angie's List it will work better to have a website.

Yes, word or mouth works, however how do you get the mouths in the chair in the first place to spread the word?

To be quite honest, I do not belong to a church, so cannot use 'my church family' to network.

Have none of you ever worked in a salon that did advertise in one way or another that actually produced a result? Direct mail? Newspaper? Radio? Flyers handed out at grocery stores or placed on cars is only a waste as they will left in the garbage or parking lot!

(08-15-2012, 12:30 PM)lexibunny Wrote: Always word of mouth...when u do a good job and have excellent customer service ,people will brag about you.

Awwwww hun, that doesn't always work. I have had some of my ladies since the beginning and many two week standing ladies for lots of years now and I don't get many referrals. All I ever hear is "I don't know anybody who gets their nails done" or "they don't want to make an appt". I figure if I didn't do a good job and give good customer service they wouldn't be coming to me. And sometimes they don't want to share ya. Fraid you will get all booked up.

word of mouth..... I have never advertised or given a discount or coupons.... I live in a 3 street outlying town, and I have clients coming in from over 40-50 miles away. Make sure you have your own nails done beautifully and when someone says I love your nails, whip out your business card and say thank you I do my own nails and I can do yours too. Maybe find a couple local visible people to do some sample work on like cashiers at grocery store, bank teller, teachers, give them a 1 time complementary set of nails and give them some cards to hand out when people ask about them.

(08-15-2012, 03:18 PM)Nail Raising Wrote: Yes, word or mouth works, however how do you get the mouths in the chair in the first place to spread the word?

To be quite honest, I do not belong to a church, so cannot use 'my church family' to network.

Have none of you ever worked in a salon that did advertise in one way or another that actually produced a result? Direct mail? Newspaper? Radio? Flyers handed out at grocery stores or placed on cars is only a waste as they will left in the garbage or parking lot!

Radio and newspaper are too expensive unless the paper is doing a story on your new business. It takes time, be patient and do great work, I posted another note on what I did. I now have a waiting list of people wanting to get in and I have no spots open for them yet. I recently raised my prices (tired of giving my art work away for free and being taken advantage of) and 4 people left me, only to have filled their openings in less than a week. So word of mouth is KEY!!! These people called me from other clients whom they saw my work on.

I live in a small town, and at first I did a lot of paper advertising and lots of freebies, as in fundraisers, gave them a basket with a gift cert. tons of business cards put them everywhere, any store, or cafe, diner, grocery store bulletin boards, and I give them to everyone I meet. yes I do get word of mouth but not enough to keep me working 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I have also won 3 years in a row, Readers Choice awards for best Esthetics's/ Mani Pedi,in our towns News Paper. My best advertising is a sign out front of my building with brochures they can take as they walk by its a sandwich board. I do have a website and facebook page it is starting to work for me. and I pay to be in the yellow pages, so I do all kinds of advertising and they all help. another thing that has helped me is I use a cell phone so I can get the calls anywhere, and my customers can text me, they also email me for appt. Good Luck, the more they see your name out there in different places the more they will remember your business when they need it.

(08-15-2012, 03:18 PM)Nail Raising Wrote: To be quite honest, I do not belong to a church, so cannot use 'my church family' to network.

This cracked me up because I do go to church, but I refuse to go to a local one! We go an hour away from where we live because I don't want to talk about nails when I'm in church mode lol. Not long ago we decided to try one closer to home and as soon as we walked in the door I saw two ladies who are clients, right after saying hello one of them showed me a broken nail and wanted to know when I could fix it, like I was supposed to whip out my phone and book her an appointment. No, thank you! That's just me though

OK...I thank u all for the good advice..
The word of mouth is taking too long..people say they will refer people but they cannot guarantee the folks will come..or how quick they will come..
I was really looking for some form of advertising that some may have tried that worked out really well..

I have just started working at a new salon & needed to generate some bizness for me(and the salon) fast...The owner said he advertises but its mainly in the pennysavers with dirt cheap prices..uggh...but we have mainly gotten coupon shopping folks & many have not come back..

Its been years since i have had to hustle this hard for a clientele since I have relocated to a new state..it has been rough! Between looking for the right nail salon, the right team-work type of co-workers & the right location...smh...it has been rough!

I would like to run some combos...we open at 11am & would like to get more bizness earlier like 9am & stay open til 8pm...looking for some specials to run for the early birds and seniors..i have already set up a Design Day where I do all 10 finger designs for $10 except for rhinestones..
Im going back 2the old school way..do a flyer with some crazy specials, senior discounts & early bird specials...print up 5000 copies at Staples on bright color paper & hit all the cars at the churches..flea markets, etc on Sun Mon & Tues & see what happens..I will keep u all posted..Wish me luck!
And any suggestions would be helpful..

Most of you have read my thread about advice, so to get on with it....... I don't know your personality, but I am a quite person and do much better one on one. My one true friend in the salon told me that I needed to get out of my chair and mingle more, talk about my nails and get to know the stylist' clients. I did that yesterday and it payed off for me today. Don't be afraid to talk yourself up. Keep your nails done, either acrylic and art or gel polish. Since many of our ladies are not familiar with gel polish, when they see it in the brochure, they ask about it. I show them my nails and tell them the advantages. Gel polish works better for me because many ladies have had damage from the NSS and are scared of acrylics. One place I worked for a whole week, lol, had done a groupon before I went there that I had to honor. The owner told Groupon a price that was $10 less than what I charged. Already I'm out that, then Groupon offers the service for half and then they get half of that. I got 7.50 out of a $40 service. I agree that word of mouth is good. Referrals have not worked very well for me, but I have gotten clients from them seeing someone else that has my work on. Good luck with what you decide. One final thing- here- if we place flyers on windsheilds in parking lots and they are thrown down, the businesses can have anyone arrested for littering, and that means a fine and some community service- litter detail on the county roads.

For me I like to build on the clientele that I have. I do it through a the referral program. they refer one person, person referred comes in tells me who sent them etc, then give the person that referred them 5.00 off there next service. works well because its just one person, no buy 2 get one free thing, just one person... Most of all it brings in clients that are like the ones I have already. The clients I have already are good, appreciative clients so it works well for them and saves them some mullah.

My own nails are my cheapest and most effective advertisements! Wearing my natural nails long or sculpture the ones I break and always having them polished and more often than not sporting designs whether it be glitters, foils, stamp art, crystals and beads has brought me in more clients than any other advertising has. From the receptionist at my vet, the bank teller, the girls at the local gas station, the supermarket checkout girl, the hostesses and waitresses at my favorite restaurant, the trainer at the gym..... Having my nails look great has gained me them as clients and then in turn having their nails look great has led to them referring me to their customers. I always have my business card handy and ready to give out whenever I hear, "Oh my gosh! I love your nails. Where do get them done?". Perfect opportunity to whip out that card and I say, "I do them! I'm a professional, licensed nail tech and I can make your nails look great too! Give me a call and we can set up your appointment.".

(08-13-2012, 05:22 PM)anointdhndz Wrote: Well, the new salon Im working at actually did a groupon. Unfortunately the rep did not explain things well to the owner, and she didnt put a cap on the amount sold....so needless to say she sold 500 of them. Now...I had always been opposed to them before, but Ive actually have built up a little clientele for the 6 weeks Ive been there....ppl are returning after using thier groupons.
Plus we are on a busy road, and she has a sign out at the road that she can put whatever on, and we have gained alot of new clients that way as well. But, yes...more than nought--word of mouth is by far the best.
Allthough here at this new place the sign out front has definitely brought in more clients than referrals have.
So, you just have to pound the pavement and see what works for you...there in no magic way to get them in...but just work and work and eventually your determination will pay off!!!

I did one and I specified a cap and they still oversold me...they're just a really awful company with no ethics. It's been a total nightmare.

Advertising is the single most important thing you can do for your business!!!! Word of mouth is wonderful however you need to start getting word of mouth from some where. I started by really decided which publications in my town seemed to be well read. Then I started calling around for pricing. I took into consideration size and how many readers the ad would go out too and then figured how many people I would need to bring in to make my money back. It is very important to remember that more frequent smaller ads will be far more effective than less frequent larger ads. Make a commitment to run an ad for 3 months minimum however 6 months is better! I guarantee you will see you advertising dollars come back after a few months. It built my business! Also getting a professional website built is probably one of the most important forms of advertisement! It is money well spent that you will make your money back from over and over again!!! DO NOT BUILD YOUR OWN WEBSITE UNLESS YOU ARE A WEB DESIGNER!!!! People choose my Spa because of its professionally built website and tell me that compared it to all the competition and it was the best one and thats why they called us! And lastly YELP!!!!! It's free to list your business, get some people to review you and you will attract all kinds of clients! I do yellow pages and pay for advertising and have to say ever since upping my ad it has helped a ton! I also payed for the Nail Salon slot for $50 a month for yp mobile that in my area any time someone searches for a nail salon I come up first. I have just hired on a 3rd nail tech, business is crazy busy, and I owe it ALL to advertising!!! Hope this helps!

(08-28-2012, 08:30 PM)nailtechNC28117 Wrote: Advertising is the single most important thing you can do for your business!!!! Word of mouth is wonderful however you need to start getting word of mouth from some where. I started by really decided which publications in my town seemed to be well read. Then I started calling around for pricing. I took into consideration size and how many readers the ad would go out too and then figured how many people I would need to bring in to make my money back. It is very important to remember that more frequent smaller ads will be far more effective than less frequent larger ads. Make a commitment to run an ad for 3 months minimum however 6 months is better! I guarantee you will see you advertising dollars come back after a few months. It built my business! Also getting a professional website built is probably one of the most important forms of advertisement! It is money well spent that you will make your money back from over and over again!!! DO NOT BUILD YOUR OWN WEBSITE UNLESS YOU ARE A WEB DESIGNER!!!! People choose my Spa because of its professionally built website and tell me that compared it to all the competition and it was the best one and thats why they called us! And lastly YELP!!!!! It's free to list your business, get some people to review you and you will attract all kinds of clients! I do yellow pages and pay for advertising and have to say ever since upping my ad it has helped a ton! I also payed for the Nail Salon slot for $50 a month for yp mobile that in my area any time someone searches for a nail salon I come up first. I have just hired on a 3rd nail tech, business is crazy busy, and I owe it ALL to advertising!!! Hope this helps!

Hey NC...how exactly did u do the YP search?? Is it a straight $50 one time fee or how does that work? And what is the reasoning behind the smaller, more frequent ads work better?? Just for the fact that they see the name over and over?? Thanks..it was some good ,solid advice....

" Take time.....to be kind".....
~Tracy~

Full Time single mom,
Medical Receptionist &
Part Time Nail Artist
Akron, OH

I built my own website, and it looks pretty professional, I think! There are some really great templates you can buy and they are pretty plug and play, although I couldn't help tweaking mine to make it a little more "Panache".

There are some good suggestions here - if you read the Nails Magazine blogs, the Coaching Chronicles has some really excellent low cost (no spendy ads) methods to reach out in your community and build your business.

I'm trying to remember the various things I've done over the last 3 years...

-Referral program - $5-$10 per referral (usually $5, but when I want to build faster I bump it to $10)

-We have a little free local publication - two years ago I ran 3 months (7 issues) worth of ads - I think I only got about 4-5 new people per month from it, but two years later half those people are still clients! The key here is that is a publication primarily read by locals who read it because it has a comprehensive list of things going on in the area. People looking for entertainment have money...

-Give ONE "Send a friend" coupon to very specific existing clients - people who absolutely love what you do and are committed to your success - and ask them to be very deliberate about who they give it to, ie someone they feel very strongly would be a good client. The send a friend coupon should be a deep discount, but I don't recommend free services.

-put together promotional fliers/offers and hand deliver them to local business'

That's all I can think of - really I just go with referrals, but I'm getting ready to start running an ad again!